035: Beyond 50/50: Putting a Child’s Best Interest First with Dale Cecka

yes yes um so you kind of touched on it a little bit but what are you seeing in family court um throughout the country what are you what are we trying to fix i guess yeah i know what we're trying to fix but i mean a

million things but i think if i had a wish list of like four top things i would change i would make court give survivors of domestic violence, victims of all kinds of family violence, coercive control, all the forms that we advocates and we survivors know, I would make them give the time to parties to present their cases, to their attorneys and the parties to present their cases, and I would have courts actually examine a children's best interest before unilaterally essentially ordering... shared parenting and shared legal custody by default, which is essentially what they do now.

I would make courts, I would make judges be fully trained and fully specialized in family law so that they understand the dynamic, they understand that ordering shared parenting is not always appropriate.

That they would domestic violence, not in a vacuum, but something that is just done to an adult woman, but also as an effect, a grave effect on children, even if children aren't the target.

I would give.

Obviously, money is important to get more judges, but I think that we need to turn away from the idea that it's just about, oh, well, judges are just too busy.

That's really not it.

There's time in the day to hear cases if they make the time and if they prioritize custody cases between parents.

And I say that also because I do feel that around the country, I've practiced in Three states, I'm licensed in three states, practiced in family courts in all those states.

Custody cases between parents are at the bottom of the priority list.

They are treated like they are just squabbles between two toxic people and they just need to work it out and get out of our courtroom.

They are treated with less dignity, with less time, with less care and attention than any other kinds of case, including custody.

Abuse and neglect cases where the state comes in and removes children.

Those cases have a whole there's a whole area of reforms that can that should be done there.

But those cases are treated with more care and more more voice and more actual interrogation into the best interest of the child.

Whereas what I see in family court is that there's no interrogation essentially of the best interest.

And it's let's just divide this child up and let's make everyone go away.

Yes.

Another number in the system.

Yes, exactly.

Let's just get our docket.

Let's move it on, like moving along.

yes yes um so you kind of touched on it a little bit but what are you seeing in family court um throughout the country what are you what are we trying to fix i guess yeah i know what we're trying to fix but i mean a

million things but i think if i had a wish list of like four top things i would change i would make court give survivors of domestic violence, victims of all kinds of family violence, coercive control, all the forms that we advocates and we survivors know, I would make them give the time to parties to present their cases, to their attorneys and the parties to present their cases, and I would have courts actually examine a children's best interest before unilaterally essentially ordering... shared parenting and shared legal custody by default, which is essentially what they do now.

I would make courts, I would make judges be fully trained and fully specialized in family law so that they understand the dynamic, they understand that ordering shared parenting is not always appropriate.

That they would domestic violence, not in a vacuum, but something that is just done to an adult woman, but also as an effect, a grave effect on children, even if children aren't the target.

I would give.

Obviously, money is important to get more judges, but I think that we need to turn away from the idea that it's just about, oh, well, judges are just too busy.

That's really not it.

There's time in the day to hear cases if they make the time and if they prioritize custody cases between parents.

And I say that also because I do feel that around the country, I've practiced in Three states, I'm licensed in three states, practiced in family courts in all those states.

Custody cases between parents are at the bottom of the priority list.

They are treated like they are just squabbles between two toxic people and they just need to work it out and get out of our courtroom.

They are treated with less dignity, with less time, with less care and attention than any other kinds of case, including custody.

Abuse and neglect cases where the state comes in and removes children.

Those cases have a whole there's a whole area of reforms that can that should be done there.

But those cases are treated with more care and more more voice and more actual interrogation into the best interest of the child.

Whereas what I see in family court is that there's no interrogation essentially of the best interest.

And it's let's just divide this child up and let's make everyone go away.

Yes.

Another number in the system.

Yes, exactly.

Let's just get our docket.

Let's move it on, like moving along.